24 June 2017•Update: 26 June 2017
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
One of two founding members of the Daesh-linked Maute group and its Malaysian financier might have been killed in airstrikes in Marawi City, top military officials said Friday.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., who heads the Western Mindanao Command, echoed an earlier statement by Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año who said Omar Maute is likely dead.
"His brother [Abdullah] is still alive, still there,” Año told reporters on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting Thursday between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in Manila.
The brothers led hundreds of Daesh-affiliated Maute fighters who laid siege to Marawi City on May 23.
"Isnilon Hapilon is still inside -- that’s why the members are showing defiance,” Año said.
Hapilon, the Abu Sayyaf leader who chosen by Daesh as its leader in southeast Asia, was the target of a military operation that developed into a full-scale battle in Marawi City.
Año also revealed Friday that Malaysian militant Mahmud bin Amad, who is suspected to have channeled $600,000, died June 7 of wounds he sustained last month
Troops are in the process of recovering the bodies of Maute terrorists and working to verify identities, according to Eastern Mindanao Command deputy commander Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, who was quoted by GMA News as saying the Maute and the financier may be among the bodies.
